The arrival of a new painting is an exercise in excitement and frustration. It's fresh and new. Just the thing you need for your collection.

Now, where the heck am I going to put it?

There's no room for additional art in my home. Still, I continue to buy because I'm addicted, I suppose. I have paintings in every conceivable place. Hanging flush left, hanging flush right … on the floor leaning against a wall … sitting in a chair leaning on the back. Some are hung high, some low. They're in every place ... except direct sunlight.

I don’t want them discolored or damaged in any way. I love sunlight, but it kills paintings and photographs.

All it takes is a new piece to throw my whole system out of whack. It happens frequently. I have certainly spent long afternoons and evenings re-arranging art. "Should I put THAT there?" "Or that THERE?"

Even art placement experts would be challenged. "Should all of the still-life pieces go together?" I ask myself. "No, if I do that, I won't have room on this wall for THAT piece!"

It's a fun problem. No matter how well organized you are, you just have to resort to stashing things in closets when there's no more space. I remember reading that the great art collectors Carl and Dorothy Vogel removed art from every nook and cranny of their home (including from underneath beds) when they donated their collection to the Smithsonian Institution. How many truckloads did it take? That’s the spirit.

My paintings probably won't make it into the Smithsonian, but in the meantime, I'll just continue to collect and ponder placement, being very careful to put 'em where the sun don't shine.